REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The article considers the experience of functioning of an important institution of regional development - regional development agencies (RDA) - on the example of three regions of Great Britain: Wales, Scotland and England. The features of their formation and development in the UK are studied, successes and failures are demonstrated, and their role in the development of regions is shown. A retrospective analysis of the activity of the RDA allowed us to establish their dependence on the ruling political party. Labourites, which is determined to increase government intervention in the economy, promotes the development of the RDA, while the conservative party, which is in favor of expanding the private sector, seeks to reduce their powers. One of the most striking proofs of this claim is the RDA of England, which was created during the labour government and for political reasons was completely eliminated by the conservatives in order to reduce budget spending, despite their effective work in certain regions of England. Another identified feature of the functioning of the RDA in the UK is that their effectiveness is inversely proportional to the level of development of the region: the more problems the region has, the more effective the activity of the RDA. Currently, in the regions of the UK under review, the RDA is only valid in Scotland. At the same time, the most effective is the activity of the Agency for the development of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland "Highlands and Islands Enterprise". The experience of the UK clearly demonstrates that when making a decision to use such an institution of economic growth as the RDA, an individual approach is necessary, taking into account the specifics of a particular region.